WWE Tag Teams: Top 6 Championship Teams (2009-2012)

WWE Tag Teams: Top 6 Championship Teams (2009-2012)

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Well, it's been awhile since I've written an article so I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with something kind of positive.

Over the past four years, give or take, we've seen WWE Tag Teams become more like alliances. The days of matching ring gear, similar gimmicks, and tag team finishing moves are long gone replaced with somewhat similar individuals who may or may not have a common goal in mind.

That said, in the wake of this, it hasn't been all bad. Some impressive coalitions have been formed over the years and though they were brief, I feel that the time they spent together was, for lack of a better phrase, pretty good.

So, without further delay, I present the top six tag team champions from 2009 to 2012. For this particular article I'm focusing on the WWE and Unified Tag Team Titles. I'd have worked that into the title at some point, but that was kind of hard.

No. 6: Team EGO (Edge & Chris Jericho)

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Team EGO was alluded to night, Jericho was drafted over from RAW to Smackdown and it didn't take long for the two Canadians to decide to work together. After a few weeks of teaming off and on, The Best in The World at What He Does and The Rated-R Superstar were able to coerce their way into a Tag Team Title match at The Bash in 2009. It was there that they defeated the teams of The Legacy (Cody Rhode and Ted Dibiase) and The Colons (Carlito and Primo) to become WWE Unified Tag Team Champions.

The Hall-of-Fame worthy duo wouldn't remain champions for long though, as Edge would suffer a career-threatening injury sidelining him and forcing him to relinquish his half of the Championships, to later be taken by The Big Show.

All-in-all, the team was a good concept, but due to circumstances beyond anybodies control, never became the force they could have been. Still, for a great concept, (something WWE lacks with tag teams these days,) great teammates, and even a tag-team finisher, they take the number six spot.

No. 5: The Dashing Ones (Drew McIntyre and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes)

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For all the flack these two got for winning the tag team titles with little build-up as a team, I honestly enjoyed the teaming of The Chosen One and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes.

The pairing came out of the common enemy of "The Old Guard" represented by Christian and Matt Hardy, and I honestly think this would have been a good feud had Matt stuck around for it, but that aside, it resulted in a pretty good tag team.

Taking the titles off of The Hart Dynasty at Night of Champions in a Tag Team Turmoil match, The Dashing Ones actually had something of a lasting effect upon the tag team division, as it was during this feud that The Hart Dynasty eventually imploded, thus taking a big chunk out of the already struggling tag team division.

Still, Drew and Cody were, at the time two of the best young talents WWE has to offer, though it would appear that Cody has gone on to become the "Shawn Michaels" of his team as the reigning Intercontinental Champion.

Regardless, as a team, I felt they were solid in every aspect, and had they been given a longer reign and remained a tag team could have been a truly great team. Again, another great idea, but this was flushed for no other reason than WWE not knowing what to do next. Easy come, easy go.

No. 4: The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, and Natalya.)

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Tyson Kidd, Natalya, and David Hart Smith: Collectively known as The Hart Dynasty, have been hearkened as one of the greatest tag teams in recent memory, and for good reason. They had it all.

They had the perfect age-old formula of a big man to get in there and throw his weight around. The high-flyer who could hit his opponent from anywhere, and was technically sound to boot, and a passable mouthpiece and occasional in-ring ally in Natalya. Makes for a great chemistry in the ring.

Likewise, with their connection to legendary Hart family, it gave old-school fans something to look at in the three characters. And I doubt they displeased at what they saw.

Not only that, but they were actually used pretty well for most of their time. Starting out on ECW, the team eventually made it to RAW and Smackdown. In their time on the main shows, they made quite the impact as more than just a tag team with Tyson Kidd picking up wins over then-World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy in a handicap match and another over then-U.S. Champion The Miz. They even gained the services of Bret "The Hitman" Hart for a short time.

Truly, they were a team that will be missed, as Tyson Kidd and Natalya are both in poor condition on SD and David Hart now wrestling in India for Impact Wrestling. That said, they were quite enjoyable for the time we had them.

No. 3: The Corre/The Nexus (Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel)

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Not gonna lie to you. This has been my favorite team in recent memory for a long time now, and for good reason. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel were a really good team. I know they may not look it, but the team really began to click while members of The Corre and Nexus and were an interesting combination to say the least.

You had two guys who could fly, but both were also technically sound in the ring. Heath was also an underrated talker, in my opinion. His accent worked against him, but I still found him passable on the mic. Both men were also capable strikers, with JG relying more on his kicks and Slater more prone to just punch you in the mouth.

Considering they were mentored on NXT by two great tag team wrestlers in Matt Hardy and Christian, I guess it was foreseeable the duo would go on to hold an impressive three WWE Tag Team Championships.

At this point, both aren't doing so hot with JG rarely getting on TV and Slater doing the job whenever he is on television. Say what you will about both men, but in my opinion, since this new age of alliances, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater were one of the best team to ever hold the bronze belts.

No. 2: Degeneration-X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H)

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What can be said about the Hall of Fame worthy careers of HBK and Triple H; collectively known as DX? Well, I suppose it is noteworthy that these men hadn't held the tag team championships together until 2009, despite forming back in the early Attitude Era.

In the main-event of the 2009, TLC PPV DX squared off against Jeri-Show in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWE Tag Team Championship in one of the rare times the Tag Titles headlined a PPV. And on that night Degeneration-X walked away the new Tag Team Champions.

Over the course of their reign, the two were involved in a pretty humorous story involving Jericho trying to get back on RAW to get the tag team titles, despite being banned from RAW as he was a Smackdown star. Along with that, the two also had a short-lived feud with CM Punk and Luke Gallows; The Straight-Edge Society before finally losing the tag titles to Show-Miz as HBK set his sights on bigger game in The Undertaker.

No. 1: Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and the Big Show)

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Chris Jericho and The Big Show, at first, seemed like an unlikely alliance, but over the months they dominated the WWE Tag Team Division. They gelled into one of the most well-known and powerful forces in recent memory.

Indeed, this was perhaps the most perfect team you could think of. Not only did they have all the tools needed, but both members were time-tested veterans.

Jericho and Big Show were multiple-time World Champions, multiple-time Tag Team Champions. Show was a former U.S. Champ, Jericho holds the record for most Intercontinental Championship reigns at nine, Show was underrated when it comes to mic skills, and Jericho is one of the best talkers in the business.

Along with all that, both members were technically sound and proved they had the skills needed to beat anyone at any time, night in and night out. Truly, one of the best tag teams to ever come from the WWE in my opinion.

End

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So, now that you know my thoughts on the best tag teams of the past few years, I'm curious to know what you all think about my article, about other teams during this time, and your thoughts in general.